In Cherkasy and Zhytomyr regions, racketeers were detained for extorting money from military wives.
The Security Service has liquidated a scheme to extort money from relatives of Ukrainian prisoners and missing persons. A 28-year-old racketeer from the Cherkasy region was detained, who promised the return of soldiers from captivity in exchange for a reward. The SBU press service reported this on Friday, November 1.
The man was lured and then with threats demanded 200 thousand hryvnias from the wife of a military officer of the Ukrainian Armed Forces who was lost during the fighting in the Pokrovsky direction. First, the attacker came up with a story that the victim’s husband was allegedly in jail, and in order to go home he had to pay money.
Being in a vulnerable state, the woman transferred more than 160 thousand hryvnias to the young man in several tranches. When she doubted about the further transfer of money, the defendant started threatening her. Specifically, the racketeer said he could kill a woman along with her husband and their child.
Law enforcement officers caught the attacker in the act when he received another 30 thousand hryvnias from the victim’s family using bank details.
According to the investigation, the man received basic information about the families of captured or missing military personnel on thematic forums on the Internet, where people wrote about their relatives.
During the searches, mobile phones with evidence of criminal actions, as well as bank cards with which money was received from the victims, were confiscated from the detainee.
He was informed of the suspicion. The perpetrator faces up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of assets.
The racketeer “extorted” money from the wife of a missing Ukrainian Armed Forces soldier and threatened to kill their son
In Berdichev, Zhytomyr region, two men were detained for “extortion” of money from the wife of a serviceman of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the press service of the Office of the Prosecutor General reported.
According to the investigation, the suspects were “extorting” a non-existent debt from the civilian wife of a Ukrainian Armed Forces serviceman. One of them was convicted of fraud and accused of theft.
In September 2024, the extortionists scheduled a meeting with the victim and demanded that he pay them 50 thousand hryvnias. The woman denied that she owed money. He was threatened with physical harm and blackmailed into disclosing confidential information.
Under psychological pressure, the victim took a laptop to a pawnshop and paid part of the debt. The suspects demanded that the remaining money be handed over, and if they contacted law enforcement officers, they threatened physical violence. A final deadline for disbursement of funds was also set.
Fearing for her life, the woman was forced to collect another amount. After receiving 10 thousand hryvnias from the victim, the men were detained and reported as suspicious.
We remind you that earlier in Cherkassy, racketeers who demanded money from the families of a dead soldier were detained.
They demanded money and were tortured: a gang of racketeers was detained in Kyiv
New Correspondent.net on Telegram and WhatsApp. Subscribe to our channels Athletistic and WhatsApp
Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.